Cook Estate public hearing doesn’t heat up

Thursday

May 31, 2007 at 12:01 AMMay 31, 2007 at 6:39 PM

The second night of public hearing testimony for the Cook Estate development had its plate full. The developers and board tackled myriad issues from house sites, road width to affordable units. Abbott Real Estate and Development, the now owners of the former Cook Estate, is proposing a 27-home community off Sohier Street.

The developers from Abbott are applying for a special permit under the town’s residential cluster development bylaw. The bylaw allows home to be built closer together with open space on the edges. Despite the “cluster” of homes, there will be no more units than would be allowed under normal subdivision.

Nancy White

The second night of public hearing testimony for the Cook Estate development had its plate full. The developers and board tackled myriad issues from house sites, road width to affordable units. Abbott Real Estate and Development, the now owners of the former Cook Estate, is proposing a 27-home community off Sohier Street.

The developers from Abbott are applying for a special permit under the town’s residential cluster development bylaw. The bylaw allows home to be built closer together with open space on the edges. Despite the “cluster” of homes, there will be no more units than would be allowed under normal subdivision.

The determination of just how many homes could be built under normal subdivision was discussed as Planning Board member Bob Sturdy disagreed with the method Abbott developers used to determine the amount of subdivision homes. The developers used the total acreage, combining the large 19-acre plot and a smaller parcel across Sohier Street next to the Fairoaks Lane neighborhood to determine the possibility of 27-single family homes.

Richard Henderson, the counsel representing Abbott said the lot is not merely a separate lot by virtue of separation by a street. He backed up his statement with naming several state cases.

The Planning Board’s engineering consultant, John Modzelewski brought the argument to a close, “when I look at this plan I can’t see losing any more than one or two more lots, if any.”

The developers plan to keep the small parcel across the street as an open lot and place a conservation restriction on it.

The narrow width of the roadway still concerned Modzelewski, Planning Board members and fire department officials. The subject was also hashed over at the first hearing. Currently, the entrance roadway is designed as 22-feet wide, while the one-way street 20-feet wide. The developers would like to keep the roadways narrow to keep a “village feel” in the development, hinder speeding and have less impervious surfacing. The crux of the problem seems to be in the parking situation in the event of a house party or during winter weather. The developers agreed to come up with alternatives for parking that would ensure emergency vehicles safe access in even extraordinary circumstances.

Chairman Al Moore brought up the possibility of affordable housing. Affordable housing units will not be included in this development as the affordable housing, inclusionary bylaw does not include single-family homes.

“It’s nothing to burden this application with,” said Moore, however, it raises concern that the bylaw language may need to go before Town Meeting to include affordable units for large single-family developments, like the one proposed.

The Planning Board requested the developers to provide an inventory of all mature trees and which of those are to be kept, re-located or destroyed. The developers will also return with a topographical map showing where they intend to dig and fill on the site.

The third and likely last public hearing for the Cook Estate will be held on June 6 at 7p.m. Once the public hearing portion of the permit application closes, no new concerns from the public may come before the board. The public may only comment on concerns already raised in the public hearing process.